Job Opening - Head of CSSA Exams (Ref: 202/20)
The Head of CSSA Exams is a permanent full time position and plays a critical strategic and operational role in leading the successful delivery of the CSSA trial HSC exams. The CSSA Exam division, which has recently come under the auspices of Catholic Schools New South Wales, has a strong reputation as the leading provider of trial examinations producing 49 trial papers and marking guidelines for nearly 40 HSC subjects with more than 185,000 papers distributed annually.
To find out more about this employment opportunity please click here.
An easier way to issue student transport concession cards (Ref: 199/20)
Issuing student concession entitlement cards will be a whole lot easier this year with pre-printed cards that you can order in bulk.
Transport for NSW is moving student concession cards onto our hard-wearing, machine-printed, Transport Concession Entitlement Card.
From 30 September 2020 you will be able to place bulk orders for cards including:
- Senior Secondary Student Concession Card (16 years and over)
- Mature Secondary Student Concession Card (18 years and over)
- Proof of Age card (child 4 to 15 years)
- Distance Education Student.
Our plastic Transport Concession Entitlement Cards are more durable which means you’ll spend less time ordering replacements and there will be no more unused cards and foils.
There are no changes to students’ eligibility for the cards.
Cards for 2021 will be ordered via the new process. We’ll provide more information including easy-to-follow steps soon.
You will be able to use the TfNSW School Portal with your existing login to access new features that will make it faster to distribute cards to students. The changes will reduce the time you spend handwriting students’ details and sticking foils onto cards.
Please share this with other staff from your school including registered School Portal users or team members who issue the cards but may not receive our emails. Any staff who manage Concession Entitlement Cards but do not currently have TfNSW School Portal access will need to request an account.
Annual School Reports due 9 October 2020 (Ref: 206/20)
Refer to NESA 24/20
4 September 2020.
Non-government schools must publish and submit their 2019 annual report to NESA by 9 October 2020.
Annual reports can be submitted to RANGS Online on or before the due date.
If you require assistance in accessing RANGS Online please contact Senior Registration Officer, Bernardine Knorr on (02) 9367 8873.
NESA has advised previously that the following information required to be included in the Annual School Report is sometimes overlooked:
- A description of how the school manages student non-attendance
- A summary of professional learning
- Student attendance rates for each Year level, and the whole school
- A summary of policies for student welfare, anti-bullying, discipline and complaints and grievances with information on: changes made to these policies during the reporting year and how these policies are disclosed publicly
- The full text or a link to the full text of the school’s enrolment policies including all prerequisites for continuing employment
- Details of the teacher accreditation status of all teaching staff (as defined by the TA Act), that is
(a) provisional accreditation under Division 3,
(b) conditional accreditation under Division 3,
(c) accreditation at proficient teacher level under Division 3 or 5,
(d) accreditation at highly accomplished teacher level under Division 5,
(e) accreditation at lead teacher level under Division 5.
- Priority areas for improvement as selected by the school including comments on the achievement of priorities for the previous year.
Youth in the time of Coronavirus Study (Ref: 201/20)
Office of the Children’s Guardian – Child Safe Standards Survey (Ref: 191/20)
As part of its ongoing consultation regarding implementation of the Child Safe Standards, the Office of the Children’s Guardian (OCG) has developed a short survey to better understand how they can support organisations providing services to children in NSW.
This short survey is designed to prompt reflection on what organisations consider their strengths, and where there are opportunities for improvement. Organisations can use it to reflect on their child safe practices to consider whether they are providing the best quality service to keep children safe from harm. Responses to the survey will also provide the OCG with some insight into the cultures and practices in organisations so that they can better target their capability building and support work.
The survey is available here. It will take about 5 minutes to complete. The OCG requests that the survey be shared with teachers, colleagues and organisations in your network. The survey can be completed by anyone who works in, or has a child that attends, an organisation that provides services to children in NSW. The OCG has requested that the questions be answered honestly and critically. All responses are anonymous.
Any queries regarding the survey or the data collected should be directed to the OCG Policy team, [email protected] .
Let’s talk about…Principal Care session 3 (Ref: 193/20)
In response to feedback from our first and highly successful session on the Principal Wellbeing Survey, Catholic Schools New South Wales in association with The Association of Catholic School Principals Ltd, invite you to continue the conversation, ‘Let’s talk about…Principal Care’ .
Thursday 12 November join Rob Unsworth, experienced principal and principal mentor, in conversation about the benefits of networks of support to build professional capital. Follow this link to register for this session.
2021 Commonwealth Bank Teaching Awards (Ref: 198/20)
Applications and nominations for the 2021 Commonwealth Bank Teaching Awards are now open. After a year of challenges, this is a wonderful opportunity to recognise teachers and school leaders for their passion and commitment to education.
The Teaching Awards, an initiative Schools Plus runs in partnership with the Commonwealth Bank, celebrate great teaching and leadership in schools across Australia, recognising those innovate, inspire and create change for their students.
The selected 12 outstanding educators will each receive a $45,000 Teaching Fellowship, which includes $10,000 to support their professional development, $25,000 for a major school project, and a group visit to a high-performing education system.
Applications for the Awards are open from 14 September 2020 – 16 October 2020. For more information, visit teachingawards.com.au.
The value of a good educator’s work lasts a lifetime, but the chance for them to be recognised is today.
Leading Through Uncertainty Short Course (Ref: 205/20)
Leading Through Uncertainty is an opportunity to update skills, quickly, to ensure you manage turbulence, optimise risk and take decisive action. This exceptional short course consists of four complementary modules. It is a rigorous, practical program grounded in best practice and backed by research. Each module is led by an expert with extensive knowledge and significant experience.
You can complete two modules per week. Each module will be delivered in a real time virtual classroom. You’ll enjoy a focused and collegial environment with a highly collaborative and supportive team to assist your online learning.
The Australian Catholic University Learning Through Uncertainty short course will begin on 21 October.
For more information please see attached brochure or see below contact details:
Dave Woodlock
Senior Consultant
Executive Education
E: [email protected]
NESA delivered Professional Learning 2020 (Ref: 190/20)
The attached information provides a summary of the professional development delivered by the NESA Liaison team in 2020. The mode of delivery (on-line or face to face) is also detailed. Liaison officers will, where possible, deliver face to face workshops to an individual school staff or team. All queries regarding these courses, which are all NESA registered, should be directed to the Liaison Officer for your school or Diocese. Liaison officer contact details can be accessed here.
Enter the NSW Children's Week 2020 Art Competition (Ref: 197/20)
Create an artwork to show how you are keeping safely connected with your family, friends and community during this time. Artworks can include drawings, paintings, photographs, digital illustrations or videos.
The competition is open to all children and young people up to the age of 18 living in NSW. It’s not about being a good artist, it’s about finding inspiration and sharing your voice through art.
Age group categories: Under 5, 6-11, 12-18
There will be 9 winners (3 from each age group.) Winners will receive a prize from a $1050 prize pool.
For more information and to enter visit: www.digitallunchbreak.nsw.gov.au
Go directly to the entry page via: bit.ly/ART20CW
Entries close Friday 9 October 2020.
Sound Scouts is now being used in over 1,200 Australian schools, for free! (Ref 197/20)
From Perth to Port Macquarie, schools across the country are screening their K-12 students for hidden hearing issues.
With the recent cancellation of incursions and excursions, many schools are taking advantage of this time to screen their students’ hearing.
There’s no specialist training needed. Teachers and support staff can use the app to screen their students’ hearing in-school by simply reviewing our School Resources. Test results are instantly analysed by our advanced algorithm and a Report is emailed.
Sound Scouts also recently launched an interactive Screening Guide for schools!
This simple and effective booklet details everything a school needs to plan and carry out a hearing screening session using the Sound Scouts app. It also explains what to do if a student fails the test and takes you step-by-step through the referral pathways. Click here to launch the interactive Screening Guide.
The Sound Scouts team are always at the ready to lend support.
For more information please click here.
Youth Action Project Grants Available (Ref: 207/20)
The Youth Action Project Grant Scheme (YAPGS), an initiative of the Australian Government Department of Health and FYA, will respond to this hardship by providing grants between $5,000 and $20,000 (a total of up to $950K inc. GST) to projects that support young people (15-24 years) as they navigate and recover from this period.
YAPGS is open to both individuals and organisations with two kinds of projects to be supported:
- New projects that recognise and uniquely respond to the hardship young people are facing now and will face in the future.
- Existing projects that provide a valuable on-going service to young people, which require additional funding to adapt or continue that work given the impact of the current environment.
The projects must support young people aged 15-24, not be commercial and should conclude by June 18, 2021.
All projects supporting young people will be considered however, there will be a particular focus on employment, mental health, transportation, and the impacts of COVID-19 and the Australian Bushfires.
Applications close at 11:59 PM AEST Wednesday 7th October.
Apply Today via this link.
Save the date: 2020 World Teachers’ Day (Ref:186/20)
This year, NSW will celebrate World Teachers’ Day on Friday 30 October 2020.
It is an opportunity to acknowledge the immense work of the 160,000+ early childhood, primary and secondary school teachers in NSW.
Teachers have gone above and beyond for their students and communities over the past year – ensuring students are supported and continuing to learn during the COVID-19 pandemic.
NESA have a range of #WTD2020 resources available to help recognise teachers, including thank you card templates for you to send out to your school community, upload to your school website, or share on social media.
To access the resources please click here.